Starting 5, June 5: Game 1 of the 2025 Finals is here

Two teams. Four wins. One Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The chase for the 2025 title begins tonight in OKC.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

June 5, 2025

Game 1 In 2 Minutes: Everything you need to know before the 2025 Finals tip off

What They’re Saying – Thunder: Hear from SGA, Chet & Coach Daigneault

What They’re Saying – Pacers: Hear from Haliburton, Turner & Coach Carlisle

On The Ground In OKC: Your all-access pass to Finals Media Day ahead of Game 1

Unforgettable Moments: Creator ThreeCone on Oklahoma City’s 2012 Finals run

1. GET READY FOR GAME 1 OF THE 2025 FINALS IN 2 MINUTES

The first step toward crowning a new champion begins tonight in OKC.

• The Matchup: The West champion Thunder host the East champion Pacers in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV (8:30 ET, ABC)
• The Streak: The NBA is guaranteed a new champion for the seventh consecutive season – the longest stretch in league history
• The Stakes For Indy: The Pacers are back in the Finals for the first time since 2000, seeking their first NBA title in franchise history
• The Stakes For OKC: The Thunder are back in the Finals for the first time since 2012, seeking their first championship in the franchise’s OKC era

New Generation: With a combined average age of 26.3 between OKC (25.6) and Indy (27.1), this is the second-youngest Finals since 1954-55, with only four players across both teams having been on the Finals stage.

• New Formula: “The new trend now is just kind of what we’re doing. OKC does the same thing. Young guys. Get out and run and defend. And use the power of friendship, as they call it.” – Pacers vet Myles Turner on how to build a champion in 2025

How The Thunder Got Here: OKC took sole possession of first place in the West on Nov. 25, and held it for the remaining 140 days of the regular season, finishing with a league-best and franchise-record 68-14 record.

• Playoff Path: The 1-seed in the West swept Memphis (4-0) in the first round, outlasted the Nuggets in seven games (4-3) in the West Semis and tamed the Wolves in five games (4-1) in the West Finals
• Still Dominant: After setting the NBA record for point differential during the regular season (+12.9), OKC outscored its opponents by 173 over its 16 Playoff games (+10.8) to reach the Finals

How The Pacers Got Here: Indiana overcame a slow start to the season – the Pacers were 10-15 and 11th in the East through 25 games – before closing the season 40-17 to earn the 4-seed with its first 50+ win season in over a decade.

• Playoff Path: The Pacers dispatched the Bucks (4-1) in a first-round rematch, then knocked off the 1-seed Cavs (4-1) in the East Semis, setting up an East Finals showdown with the rival Knicks, which the Pacers won in six games (4-2)
• Comeback Kids: The Pacers became the first team ever with four 17+ point comebacks in a Playoff run, including three where they were down 7+ points in the final minute – something that had only been done once prior in Playoff history

Marquee Matchup: Franchise point guards Shai Gigeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton have elevated their respective teams to new heights, while doing so in different – but equally effective – ways.

• Lethal Scorer: On the path to winning his first Kia NBA MVP, SGA led the league in scoring (32.7 ppg), dissecting defenses to get to his spots in a fashion that is as cool as has off-court style
• Pace-Setting Playmaker: Haliburton plays fast and free and his Pacers follow suit. Quick to dish a no-look pass, the postseason’s leading assist man can beat you without scoring, but does have a penchant for making clutch shots

Strong Supporting Casts: Both teams are deep with young talent that help define their team’s identity.

• Swarming Defense: OKC overwhelms opponents with its defensive pressure, sending waves of elite defenders to force turnovers and create scoring chances. The Thunder led the NBA in defensive rating and points off turnovers
• Efficient & Fast Offense: Indy keeps its foot on the gas on offense, looking for early scoring opportunities in transition or even off made baskets. Fueled by Haliburton, Indiana leads the Playoffs in assists

The Buzz: The anticipation for the Finals has been building over the past week. Here are a few of our favorite reads from around the NBA world.

• The Athletic: From ‘struggling to look at myself’ to playoff hero: How Tyrese Haliburton rediscovered his joy
• Andscape: Highly anticipated matchup between Gilgeous-Alexander, Haliburton sets up refreshing NBA Finals
• Washington Post: The NBA’s newest power is scary young, scary different and scary good
• Sports Illustrated: How the Thunder and Pacers are bringing parity to the NBA Finals
• Associated Press: Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took road less travelled to stardom in NBA Finals

2. MEDIA DAY: THUNDER READY TO ROLL 

David Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images

NBA players are used to speaking with the media, but NBA Finals Media Day is a different animal.

With reporters and correspondents from all over the world descending on one city to cover one series, these two teams are facing the brightest spotlight many have ever experienced.

It’s the first Finals Media Day for each member of the Thunder. Even NBA champion Alex Caruso didn’t have this day with media access limited during the 2020 postseason.

For a team that has turned its postgame interviews into entertainment all season, the Thunder took the added cameras and microphones in stride.

Spend Media Day With SGA: From Good Morning America, to the press conference room, to an ABC sitdown with Malika Andrews and an ABC broadcast crew meeting with Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson, the Kia NBA MVP was in high demand on Wednesday.

• “Staying true to who we are is the reason why we’re here.” – Shai on OKC maintaining its identity being key to reaching the Finals
• “I don’t play for the individual stuff. I don’t play for anything else besides winning. And I never have my whole life.” – Shai on his motivation
• “It’s special…it’s hard to even wrap your head around.” – Shai on the Canadian presence in the Finals with himself, Lu Dort, Benn Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard sharing the stage

Chet Holmgren, who’s at the Finals in his sophomore season, discussed the bond and shared mentality from the first to last player on the roster, as well as what he’s learned from the champ they added in the offseason.

• “He’s come in here and taught us the importance of executing the details.” – Holmgren on Alex Caruso’s impact on the Thunder

Coach Mark Daigneault credited the OKC community for their constant encouragement while the team went through its battles and how that connection has helped when it comes to developing the young talent that has now reached the Finals.

• “The community and the team have just a very unique relationship. It’s the only professional sports league in town, the fans are unbelievably enthusiastic about the team…
• “When we were rebuilding and were winning a lot less than we were losing, the support and encouragement we got from our fans was really telling…
• “To be in a market where everybody is rooting for you, everybody is encouraging you, everybody is supporting you … I think our young players have grown up faster and have performed better because they exist in this market.”

3. MEDIA DAY: PACERS EMBRACE CHALLENGE

David Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images

Throughout their run to the Finals, the Pacers have thrived on proving doubters wrong.

Facing a Thunder squad that won 18 more games than they did in the regular season, the Pacers know they’ll be labeled as the underdogs in the Finals.

When speaking with the media on Wednesday, Indy’s players and coaches did not run from the term.

• “Oklahoma City is a great team. We’re aware of what’s expected here. So, we’ve got a lot of work cut out for us. A lot of our guys have been through a lot of situations where they’ve been underdogs in the past. – said coach Rick Carlisle
• “If we’re going to win a championship, I don’t want to win it any other way… you want to go through the best team.” – said Tyrese Haliburton, who went through a similar busy media day as his star guard counterpart, SGA
• “The Finals is a very special thing and something I’ve wanted to be a part of my whole life, so to be here means the world and I’m just taking it all in.” – said Haliburton of his first Finals appearance

It took Myles Turner – the longest-tenured Pacer – 10 years to reach the Finals for the first time and he’s soaking in the experience, while giving flowers to teammate Pascal Siakam, who’s been down this road before.

• “It’s just exciting times. I’m just taking every single moment in. You never know if you’ll be on this stage again, so while I’m here I’m gonna make the most of it.” – said Turner on Wednesday
• “The G League is a grind. People don’t have enough appreciation for what it takes to work your way up. [Pascal] was able to develop into an MVP on a championship team there…
• …And take those same habits and apply them to this level … and he was able to do the same thing at the biggest stage.” – Turner on Siakam’s journey from the G League to being an NBA champion

4. ALL-ACCESS: ON THE GROUND IN OKC

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Mixed in with the swaths of media inside Paycom Center on Wednesday were NBA Player Correspondent Jared McCain of the Sixers and content creator/Twitch streamer Agent00 to speak with players, take in the scene and share their unique views of the Finals.

• McCain Is Prepped: The Sixers guard may be new to the media game, but he came ready with a list of questions, while Agent was taking questions from his live chat
• Point Guard Talk: McCain asked Haliburton how he balances scoring and playmaking, which has been key to Indiana’s success
• The Mental Game: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander answered McCain’s question about how he maintains his mental focus during OKC’s Finals run – it’s all about when to plug in and when to unplug
• Correspondent Talk: What advice did Jalen Williams – a Finals Player Correspondent in 2023 – offer his 2025 counterpart, McCain, in order to get the most from this experience?

Agent kept the questions fun as he caught up with Alex Caruso, Chet Holmgren and Obi Toppin while streaming to his 60,000 viewers.

• AC’s Tunes: Caruso’s pregame playlist features a pair of polar opposite artists – it all depends on his energy at the moment
• Obi’s Philosophy: Toppin shares his approach to life with Agent’s audience, breaking down how he makes each day great
• Getting Buckets? Chet breaks down how many points Agent could score in a Finals game if he got a full 48 minutes on court
• Canadians Unite: Agent, who is from Toronto, spoke with Lu Dort about the importance of having four Canadians in this year’s Finals
• Finish Strong: When Agent challenged Toppin to a 3-point contest to end his stream, it led to pushups for one of the participants

5. UNFORGETTABLE: THE MAKING OF A THUNDER DIE-HARD

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

In our Unforgettable series, creators and players revisit their favorite Finals memories that left a lasting impact – whether they were watching from afar or living it themselves.

For NBA content creator and Thunder fan Three_Cone, that moment came in 2012. Growing up in southeastern Virginia, Cone didn’t have a local team to root for as a child.

But everything changed when he first caught a glimpse of a young, explosive guard named Russell Westbrook.

What started as a casual interest quickly turned into a passionate fandom. By the time Cone was 12, OKC had stormed to the NBA Finals with a trio of young stars – Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden – and a new love was unlocked.

Now one of the most recognizable voices in Thunder Nation, Cone reflects on how that Finals run changed everything for him, what this year’s return to the big stage means and why he’s not taking a single second of it for granted.

So, what is Cone’s ‘Unforgettable’ Finals moment?

“For me, the 2012 Finals come to mind. It’s funny though because I have memories of it, but they’re very hazy in a way because I was 12, you know? So I’m 25 now … and that was very early in me getting into basketball…

“But around 2010, right as I hit double digits, I started to watch basketball a little bit. And specifically, almost from the get-go, Russell Westbrook really caught my eye. 

“I just started watching games, and I immediately became a big fan of his and then in turn became a Thunder fan … a couple years later – boom, they’re in the Finals … And then they won Game 1 – that’s one of my moments right there, beating Miami in that first game of the series.

“They end up losing the next four games, unfortunately … But I just remember watching those guys … that series and that team – specifically watching Russ. I remember he put up 43 in Game 4. That’s when I really fell in love with the sport.”

Read more of Cone’s story on NBA.com.